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Tommy Robinson was “arrested under anti-terrorist laws” after thousands of his supporters marched through London at a rally in Trafalgar Square



According to a post on Tommy Robinson’s verified social media accounts, he was “arrested under the Anti-Terrorism Act.”

The Metropolitan Police have said they “do not acknowledge” the claims and that “the police are not involved.” MailOnline was unable to independently verify the claims made in the post.

A far-right activist had previously been warned that he could face a prison sentence after showing a banned film to thousands of his supporters at a rally in Trafalgar Square yesterday.

A complaint was later filed about a film that was allegedly shown to the crowd in violation of a Supreme Court order. Police said officials had launched further investigations.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also posted an hour-and-a-half-long film about X on Saturday afternoon. In it, he said he had previously avoided posting the video because he was “scared.”

A post on Tommy Robinson’s social media account claims he has been arrested. Pictured: Tommy Robinson at a rally in Trafalgar Square on Saturday
A post on Tommy Robinson’s X account said the former chairman of the English Defence League had been arrested under anti-terrorism laws.

A post published this afternoon on his official X account (formerly known as Twitter) read: “URGENT ADMIN POST – PLEASE SHARE WIDELY!!!!”

“We can confirm that Tommy Robinson was arrested by police under powers granted to them under the Terrorism Act 2000.”

“That’s right, you read that correctly. Tommy is being held by the police under anti-terrorism laws.

“We will keep you updated as soon as possible.”

MailOnline could not independently confirm Robinson’s arrest.

The Metropolitan Police told MailOnline that it “does not acknowledge” the claims made in the post and that there was “no involvement of the Metropolitan Police” in his arrest.

The former chairman of the English Defence League made the statement a day after thousands of his supporters marched through central London before gathering in Trafalgar Square for his “Uniting The Kingdom” rally.

Robinson and other members of the far right gave speeches at the event, which the 41-year-old described as “the biggest patriotic rally Britain has ever seen”.

The crowd was also shown a documentary called Silenced, about Syrian refugee Jamal Hijazi, who was attacked by another pupil in the playground of Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield – despite a judge previously ruling it was a contempt of court.

Mr Hijazi successfully sued Robinson for defamation in 2021 after false claims were made about him, including that the then-teenager had attacked girls at his school. Robinson was ordered to pay him £100,000 in damages plus costs.

After yesterday’s appearance, Robinson called on authorities to “bring him to justice.”

The event, entitled “Uniting The Kingdom,” was organized by former chairman of the English Defence League, Tommy Robinson (pictured yesterday).

Thousands of people gathered in Trafalgar Square on Saturday and waved British flags at the rally
Participants of the event organised by Tommy Robinson gathered outside the Royal Courts of Justice on Saturday morning

On his X-account he wrote: “I will go to prison for two years for showing the unbelievable truth.”

He was due to appear before the Supreme Court on Tuesday on charges of contempt during filming.

Robinson showed the film at the rally despite being barred by a restraining order from repeating the claims it contained.

In response to a complaint about the film being shown on X on Saturday night, the Met said: “We did not know which films would be shown during the event. Protest organizers are not required to disclose these details in advance. We have no authority to compel them to do so.”

“The officers on duty at the event could not reasonably have known that a civil case was pending in connection with a particular film. Now that we have been informed of this, we are conducting further investigations to determine what steps we need to take.”

On Saturday evening, police announced that nine people had been arrested in connection with the event, which saw hundreds of counter-demonstrators take to the streets at the same time.

Among those arrested were two men who were taken into custody after an anti-racism protester was attacked as the counter-demonstration organised by Stand Up To Racism marched towards Whitehall.

A St George’s flag was flown in Trafalgar Square with the words “Stop the boats” and “Do it for the future of our children”.
British and English flags flew in the air as people listened to a speech by Tommy Robinson in Trafalgar Square

The victim suffered a head injury and was taken to hospital following the incident in Victoria Embankment Gardens.

Police said the couple, who were believed to have taken part in the Tommy Robinson protests, were taken into custody on suspicion of grievous bodily harm.

Four people were arrested outside a pub in Whitehall on suspicion of assaulting emergency workers. Four Metropolitan Police officers were attacked.

A man was also detained on suspicion of criminal damage and racially motivated public disorder after allegedly tearing up a Palestinian flag and making a racially offensive remark. Another was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a rescue worker after he kicked a police officer, police said.

The police had already used their powers under the Public Order Act to keep the warring groups apart, fearing serious unrest.